Key Takeaways
- Latin America experienced the highest ransomware attack density worldwide in 2025, with > 8.13 % of organizations hit.
- Threat actors are moving beyond traditional malware, weaponizing legitimate admin tools, exploiting remote‑access infrastructure, and leveraging post‑quantum cryptography to stay hidden.
- Ransomware groups have become more organized and technically sophisticated, allowing longer dwell times and more damaging data‑exfiltration or encryption campaigns.
- Although the overall share of impacted organizations fell slightly from 2024, individual attacks are now far more severe, focusing on high‑value targets for greater financial gain.
- Manufacturing suffered the biggest blow in Q1 2025, with estimated losses near $18 billion due to halted production and supply‑chain disruption.
- Later in 2025 attackers shifted focus to financial institutions and educational organizations, seeking lucrative data and rapid ransom payments.
- The most active ransomware families in the region were ShinyHunters, Qilin, RansomHub, LockBit, and the emergent Gentleman ransomware.
- Emerging markets remain attractive targets because of uneven cyber‑security readiness, outdated infrastructure, and rapid digital transformation that often outpaces security investment.
- Organizations must adopt layered defenses, continuous monitoring, zero‑trust principles, and regular backup testing to curb the evolving ransomware threat.
Overview of the State of Ransomware in 2026 Report
The State of Ransomware in 2026 report published by Kaspersky provides a comprehensive view of the ransomware landscape throughout 2025. Analysts collected telemetry from millions of endpoints worldwide, examined incident reports, and tracked the activities of known ransomware syndicates. The study highlights a clear geographic shift: Latin America surpassed all other regions in attack density, signaling a urgent need for targeted defensive measures in the area. By quantifying the percentage of organizations affected and detailing the tactics employed, the report equips security leaders with actionable intelligence to prioritize resources and improve resilience against increasingly sophisticated extortion campaigns.
Ransomware Attack Density in Latin America
According to Kaspersky’s data, more than 8.13 % of organizations operating across Latin America experienced at least one ransomware‑related incident in 2025. This figure placed the region at the top of the global ranking for attack density, outpacing the Asia‑Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the European Union. The metric reflects not only the frequency of attacks but also the concentration of successful intrusions relative to the total number of businesses in the region. Such a high exposure rate underscores the vulnerability of Latin American enterprises and highlights the necessity for region‑specific threat‑intelligence sharing and coordinated response frameworks.
Evolving Tactics of Threat Actors
Modern ransomware operators have abandoned reliance on conspicuous malware droppings in favor of stealthier, more versatile methods. They increasingly weaponize legitimate administrative tools—such as PowerShell, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), and remote‑desktop protocols—to blend malicious activity with normal system administration. By exploiting remote‑access infrastructure, attackers gain footholds without triggering traditional signature‑based detections. Additionally, some groups have begun experimenting with post‑quantum cryptographic algorithms to strengthen encryption keys, anticipating future advances that could render current decryption efforts obsolete. These tactics enable threat actors to conceal their movements, disable security controls like firewalls and endpoint protection platforms, and launch larger‑scale attacks with greater speed and efficiency.
Increased Organization and Sophistication of Cybercriminal Groups
The report notes that ransomware syndicates have evolved into highly organized, quasi‑corporate entities. By abusing trusted software and network‑management tools, they can infiltrate systems while remaining undetected for extended periods—sometimes weeks or months. Once inside, attackers often exfiltrate sensitive data before encrypting files, leveraging the stolen information as a secondary extortion vector. This “double‑extraction” approach amplifies pressure on victims, who face both operational downtime and the threat of public data leakage. The heightened technical proficiency and operational discipline of these groups translate into more effective campaigns, higher ransom demands, and greater overall impact on targeted organizations.
Global Ransomware Landscape and Drivers of Vulnerability
Beyond Latin America, the study ranked regions by attack density: Asia‑Pacific came second, followed by Africa, the Middle East, the CIS, and the European Union. Experts attribute the heightened risk in emerging markets to a combination of uneven cybersecurity preparedness, legacy IT infrastructure, and rapid digital transformation initiatives that frequently outpace security investments. Many organizations in these regions adopt cloud services, IoT devices, and remote‑work technologies without implementing commensurate controls, creating an expansive attack surface. Consequently, threat actors view Latin America and similar locales as fertile ground for lucrative, low‑effort intrusions.
Shift From Quantity to Quality: More Severe, Targeted Attacks
While the overall percentage of organizations impacted by file‑encrypting malware dipped slightly compared with 2024, the nature of those incidents changed dramatically. Ransomware groups are now prioritizing “quality over quantity,” launching fewer but far more damaging attacks. By focusing on high‑value targets—such as critical manufacturers, financial hubs, and large educational institutions—attackers maximize disruption and potential payouts. Advanced intrusion techniques, including zero‑day exploits and credential‑theft campaigns, allow them to bypass defenses more reliably, resulting in higher encryption success rates and larger ransom demands. This strategic shift reflects a maturation of the ransomware economy, where profitability is driven by impact rather than sheer volume of infections.
Sector‑Specific Impact: Manufacturing Losses in Q1 2025
A joint analysis by Kaspersky and VDC Research revealed that the manufacturing sector bore the brunt of ransomware activity during the first quarter of 2025. Reported damages approached $18 billion, stemming primarily from prolonged production line halts, delayed shipments, and cascading supply‑chain disruptions. Manufacturing environments are particularly vulnerable because operational continuity is tightly coupled with physical processes; any interruption in IT systems can instantly stop machinery, idle workers, and erode revenue. The financial toll is exacerbated by the cost of incident response, forensic investigations, regulatory fines, and reputational harm, making manufacturing a prime target for extortion‑focused adversaries.
Later‑Year Focus on Finance and Education
As the year progressed, ransomware actors adjusted their focus toward financial institutions and educational organizations, especially during the fourth quarter of 2025. Banks, fintech firms, and universities store vast amounts of sensitive personal and financial data, and they face intense pressure to restore services quickly to avoid regulatory penalties and loss of trust. Attackers exploit this urgency, knowing that victims are more likely to pay substantial ransoms to regain access to critical systems or prevent data leakage. The shift also reflects the attackers’ desire to diversify their portfolios and capitalize on sectors where the perceived willingness to pay is high, thereby increasing the overall profitability of their campaigns.
Prominent Ransomware Groups Operating in Latin America
The threat landscape in Latin America during 2025 was dominated by several well‑known ransomware families, alongside a rising newcomer. ShinyHunters, Qilin, RansomHub, and LockBit consistently appeared in incident reports, leveraging their established infrastructures and affiliate networks to conduct large‑scale operations. Notably, a newer actor dubbed Gentleman ransomware emerged, rapidly gaining notoriety for its aggressive attack campaigns targeting businesses across the region. Gentleman’s tactics often involve rapid lateral movement, use of living‑off‑the‑land binaries, and tailored ransom notes that reference local regulations, suggesting a deepening understanding of regional victim psychology and legal environments.
Implications and Recommendations
The findings from Kaspersky’s State of Ransomware in 2026 report make clear that Latin American organizations must elevate their cybersecurity posture to match the evolving threat. Recommended actions include implementing zero‑trust network architectures, enforcing multifactor authentication across all privileged accounts, maintaining offline and immutable backups, and conducting regular red‑team exercises that simulate living‑off‑the‑land attacks. Additionally, sector‑specific information‑sharing hubs—particularly for manufacturing, finance, and education—can improve early warning and collective defense. By aligning investments with the sophistication of modern ransomware groups, businesses can reduce dwell time, limit impact, and preserve operational continuity in an increasingly hostile digital landscape.